


Zombification

by NYWCgirl



Series: Febuwhump 2021 [5]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Manipulation, Mind Control, Mind Manipulation, Minor Injuries, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Zombies, alternative religion, body control, phantom pains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:21:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29214828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NYWCgirl/pseuds/NYWCgirl
Summary: When Mac and Jack are in New Orleans, they come face to face with a different kind of enemy.
Series: Febuwhump 2021 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137467
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12
Collections: Hurt/Comfort Bingo - Round 11





	Zombification

**Author's Note:**

> This fic fills the ‘loss of a treasured possession’ square on my H/C Bingo card and the ‘Take me instead’ prompt in Febuwhump

_New Orleans_

_The residence of Misses Jacoby_

‘So who is this supposed wife of yours? Did you see or meet her during your op here?’

‘No man, I’m telling you, I’ve never seen this woman in my life. But I really have a bad feeling about this.’

Mac studies Jack and it is clear he is genuinely nervous.

‘OK, let’s split up and search the house.’

‘I’ll take upstairs, you search here down below.’ Jack suggest.

They split up and start searching the house. Mac first look in the basement. At first glance nothing’s wrong. The washing machine and dryer are located there, but there is also a locked door, so Mac looks around for something he can use a s a lock pick. He friends a cola tin, so he quickly opens it and pours the contents in the drain of the washing machine. With his SAK he cuts off the top and bottom. Then he cuts out a big letter M shape. He crimps the handle with his SAK and finally shapes the shim. He drives it into the shackle housing of the padlock and pilling on the tabs he created, he pulls them from side to side. Once he hears the telltale click, he pulls the unlocked shackle out of the housing. Taking the padlock of the door, he can open it but what he finds, is definitely not what he expected.

It is some sort of shrine and the smell is terrible. There are dried animal remains, dried up blood, twigs, feathers, candles. He wants to pick up a note that seems to be stuffed under a stone.

‘Don’t touch that.’

Mac starts.

‘Jack! You want to give me a heart attack or something?’

‘Mac, this is powerful stuff. Don’ mess with it.’

‘Come on Jack , this is just superstition and a foreign religion.’

‘No man, I’m telling you, it isn´t. I’ve lived long enough in New Orleans to know not to mess with this.’

‘Yeah well, we are here to find out stuff, so…’

Mac takes the piece of paper which he slowly unfolds.

‘Uh… Jack?’

‘Oh, that is no Bueno, Man.’

Mac looks at Jack’s photo and what he can only guess is Misses Jacoby.’

* * *

Riley has tracked Jack’s wife to a local bar. Jack chooses to confront misses Jacoby straight on and before they know it, they are part of a bar fight. When they finally make it out of the bar, Jack’s wife is gone. Jack curses but Mac contacts Riley to try to see what she can do with traffic cams.

‘Let’s ho Jack, Riley is doing her thing.’

Jack nods and follows Mac back to the car. Mac pinches his nose close to stop the bleeding.

* * *

‘Did you get what I asked?’

‘Of course.’

The man holds out a small plastic bag with blond hairs and a tissue with some blood smears.

‘You are one hundred percent sure these are his?’

‘One hundred percent.’

‘Let’s get to work then.’

The bokor takes all the ingredients and herbs he collected or bought.

Grinding everything together while mumbling his incantations, he works on his coup de poudre. He wears a fresh air mask, careful not to come in contact with the mixture. Once the coup de poudre is ready, he carefully puts it in a glass jar, careful not to spill anything or come into contact with it.

When he leaves the hounfour, the other man is waiting for him.

‘Is it ready?’

‘It is.’

* * *

Since Jack has lived in New Orleans, he knows his way through shops and contacts and it doesn´t take long to get back on misses Jacoby’s track.

They want to talk to someone who has information. They are on their way to meet him, but Jack once again has a bad feeling about it. Mac pushes forward and soon enough they are entering some obscure house. Now that they are inside, Mac must admit it doesn´t feel right.

‘Hey Nathan?’ Jack calls out.

A man appears but something must be wrong because the moment Jack and the man look at each other, the man takes off. Jack and Mac immediately give pursuit. Jack, standing closer than Mac is ahead, when Mac feel something blown in his face. He rubs at his eyes but continues running, hoping he can catch up with Jack. He can’t see them but he presses on. Turning around the corner Jack is scanning the street, but their contact is gone. Jack turns around, studying Mac.

‘What happened?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You’re covered in dust.’

Mac wipes his face with his sleeve.’

So where did he go?’

‘I don’t know, one moment I was behind him, the next, he was gone.’

‘OK, let’s get back to the apartment and rethink our strategy.’

When they arrive at their temporary home, Mac look exhausted.

‘I’m gonna take a shower.’

Jack nods, making a bee line for the fridge. While Mac stands under the shower, he is cold, so he turns the knob for hotter water. But the cold seems to creep in his bones. Not getting any warmer, Mac leaves the shower and gets dressed in fresh clothes. A strange stiffness settles in his joints. He must have pulled something or moved wrongly while in pursuit. Walking into the living room with its open kitchen, he can see Jack standing in front of the open fridge.

Jack turns because of the strange noise he hears behind him, he is just in time to see Mac staring with wide eyes at his hand. There is blood on his hand and lips.

‘What happened?’ Jack frantically asks.

‘I don´t know, I.. I don´t feel so good.’ Mac says weakly.

Jack grabs Mac under the arms and drags him to the car, racing of. He fumbles with his phone.

‘ _Were you ever going to report in?_ ’

‘Matty, I’m taking Mac to hospital.’

‘ _What’s wrong with him?’_

‘I don’t know, but he had a nose bleed and now he is coughing up blood.’

‘ _He probably swallowed blood from the nose bleed.’_

‘No, he is not OK.’

_‘The closed hospital is located two point six miles east of your current location.’_

Jack opens the maps in his phone and presses route. Following the instructions, he pulls up at the emergency department. Running around the car, he pulls Mac out of the car, the moment he pulls Mac in a bridal carry, he can feel the heat radiating form the kid. How did the fever come on so abruptly?

‘I need help.’

A male nurse comes out, seeing the scene in front of him, he calls for back up. Mac seems to be drifting when they examine him. He is full of aches. The ER docs can´t seem to diagnose what is wrong with Mac, so he is admitted.

Two hours later, he is dead. The attending physician, signs the dead certificate and Mac’s body is placed in cold storage. Jack is on automatic pilot when he calls Matty to update her. She promises to take care of everything and tells Jack to come back home.

* * *

Whatever is happening to him, it takes effect on his whole body. While the doctors and nurses bustle around him, he can feel himself go immobile, his breathing is reduced so dramatically that he can feel the doctors start doing CPR. It hurts, but what hurts more is the moment someone calls it.

‘Time of death, four twenty two.’

But if he thought that hurt, nothing prepares him for Jack’s gut wrenching sobs.

_Please, I’m not dead. Jack! Come on, you can’t believe them. I’m here!_

A sheet is pulled over his face and he can only hear everybody leave the room. He can’t panic now. He needs to think. Why can’t he move? Is he paralyzed? No, not likely, the powder! Someone blew powder in his face. Why didn’t he mention it? But what if he is really dead? Maybe… no, he must be dreaming. Surely that is it.

Suddenly he is picked up and transferred to a cold steel something and he is moving. To his horror he recognizes where they arrive… the morgue. He will recognize the scent of formaldehyde anywhere. He is lifted onto a steel slab and shoved in the fridge. The closing of the door has something definite. Mac wonders what is going to happen.

* * *

‘Director Webber?’

‘Speaking.’

‘This is University Medical Center. My name is Dwayne Rousso and I am afraid I have some bad news.’

‘Is something wrong with Jack Dalton?’

‘No, I’m calling regarding the remains of mister Macgyver. There has been made a mistake by the funeral parlor. Mister Macgyver’s body was to be send to California for burial, but it was mistakenly cremated.’

‘What?’

‘I’m really sorry.’

‘I want the ashes sent immediately to me. Give me your email address and I will make sure you get the necessary documents.’

‘Of course, no problem, I will overnight them to you. Again, our apologies.’

When Matty disconnects the line, she takes a deep breathe. Jack is not going to be taking this well. She picks up the phone and calls him.

* * *

When the door of the fridge opens, Mac starts awake. How did he manage to fall asleep? The bed is pulled out and Mac is put on a gurney and wheeled away. He tries to talk and move but his body still doesn´t respond to his brain.

He is being transported in a vehicle. Wait, are they bringing him to a funeral parlor? It would be logical. Where is Jack? Why hasn´t he come to see him?

When the car stops, he is pulled out and taken inside a building.

‘What do you want to do with him?’

‘His family wants him buried. Here is the paperwork.’ A cold voice states plainly.

Mac’s heart skips a beat. He can’t be buried. Why doesn´t Jack rescue him? He can hear one of the men leaving the room and a door closes behind him. The other man comes closer.

‘I know you are fully aware of what is going on. Too bad you can’t express yourself to let them know you are still alive. Well rest well, Macgyver.’

Mac is shocked to hear the man knows of his predicament. He steps away when the door opens.

‘OK, we can bury him today. I ordered to dig a grave right away.’

‘Thank you. Your commitment will not be forgotten.’

Mac hates the immobility, he can´t move, he is locked in his head and he is sure he is going to go mad. But the panic gets real when he is placed in what he can only assume is a coffin. This is really happening. They are really going to bury him. He can hear the coffin being nailed shut and there is moment where he actually thinks he is going to die from a heart attack, but it doesn´t happen. The coffin is being moved and soon after, they are on their way. Mac can only assume towards his last resting place.

He doesn´t have to wait long. The coffin is carried and then he hears a man say, ‘Rest in peace Angus Macgyver.’

The coffin is lowered and Mac screams in his mind. This can´t be happening, can it? Where is Jack. If there was ever a moment to save him, this is the moment. But no rescue comes and Mac can hear the dirt hitting the top of the coffin.

* * *

‘What do you mean, they made a mistake? That is a goddamn big mistake. How do we even know it is him?’

‘I had the ash examined in our lab and they confirmed Mac’s DNA.’

Matty stops when she sees how heartbroken Jack is.

‘Look Jack, let’s go through the ceremony first, OK? We ill figure it out.’

Jack nods and stands up.’

‘Where are you going?’

‘To the gym. I need to let off some steam.’

* * *

The Bokor enters the graveyard and starts digging up the body of his latest victim. He is just in time, he doesn´t want his victim to suffocate from lack of oxygen. Once he has the coffin in his sight, he prays open the lid, revealing Mac.

‘Good, I can tell you are still with us.’

He performs an ancient vodou rite where he captures Mac’s ti bonange. He traps the spirit zombie part of the soul in a small clay jar. He then takes Mac’s SAK and wraps it with the clay jar in Mac’s leather jacket. He will hide it well. He then takes Mac’s body with him to an abandoned farm outside New Orleans. He will have to wait for two days before he can administer the zombi’s cucumber to the kid. It is a powerful hallucinogenic mixture that will revive his victim and keep him in a state of submissive confusion. Jack Dalton will not know what hits him.

* * *

‘You need to move on Jack.’

‘I … I can’t, I…’

‘Bozer and Riley need you to keep them safe. I need you on this mission. You are the only one I trust to keep them safe.’

‘I can’t. I couldn´t keep Mac safe.’

‘No, you couldn´t, but you can help the rest of the team. It is time to move on, Jack. Mac wouldn´t want you to just sit here.’

Jack nods, he knows this but still, he gets up and leaves the Phoenix. Driving to the cemetery where his dad is buried. He asked Matty to bury Mac’s ashes close to his dad, so he can talk to them both. When he arrives, he lays down between the two gravestones.

‘Hi pops, Mac’

What is there to say? He feels like he is missing a piece of himself. It is a raw hole and he doesn´t know how to handle it. So he just lays on his back, closing his eyes. It is peaceful here, it is a good plot. Jack opens his eyes and he is no longer in the cemetery. He is standing in what appears to be an old farmhouse. He jumps up, what happened? He was at a graveyard in Los Angeles, not in some creepy farmhouse. He studies his surroundings. He can´t remember coming here. Is he finally lost it?

_When he hears a noise, he follows it. When he follows it, he finds a shrine. When he flips on the light, he starts. Mac is standing in front of him. He looks horrible. If Jack needed to describe him, he would say he looked like a zombie, but what is the most shocking are his eyes, they are empty, devote of any life. It is eerie. Mac just stands there.’_

_‘What is going on Mac?’_

_Mac doesn´t respond, he just stares at Jack with those vacant eyes. Jack isn´t sure what to do. This got to be a nightmare. It has to be._

_‘Help me.’ Mac whispers in a slur._

_‘What? Mac, you are dead.’_

_‘Help me, Jack.’_

_‘How?’_

_Mac points at his leather jacket, that is folded on the shrine._

_‘Mac, where are you? I don´t understand.’_

‘Jack, are you alright?’

Jack startles awake. Riley is kneeling next to him.

‘Riley, what are you doing here?’

‘Matty told me I could find you here. What’s wrong? You look like you saw a ghost.’

‘I did. Mac asked me for help.’

‘What do you mean, Mac asked you for help.’

Jack gets up, ‘ I need to go back to New Orleans. Something is going on.’

‘Jack, come on, don´t do this to yourself. It was just a dream.’

‘No, somethings up. I need to go.’

Jack jogs towards the GTO and is off.

* * *

‘I don´t know Matty. You were right. I found him in between his dad and Mac’s grave but he was asleep. And when he woke, he looked like he saw a ghost. And he got up taking off, murmuring something about having to go back to New Orleans.

‘OK, that is not good. Jack refusing to go on the mission. Something must have happened and it has something to do with Mac. And you know how Jack gets when Mac is involved.’

‘I’ll get the jet ready.’

‘Wait up. I’m coming with you.’

Riley looks at Bozer. It really isn´t good, if Matty is coming herself.

* * *

‘Spill it Willy, nothing happens in this town without you knowing about it and more often than not, you’ve got a piece of the action. What happened to the kid that was with me?’

‘I don´t…’

‘Don´t even try me Willy. I’m not in the mood. I saw that voudou mumbo jumbo in that mansion and in the farm. I saw that picture at the shrine, someone has it in for me. I want to know who and why.’

‘I really can´t…’

‘Willy don´t make me do things I am going to regret. But I won’t hesitate if it comes to the kid. Am I clear?’

‘Forget the boy, really… Jack, I’m serious. You don´t want to mess with these forces.’

‘Just point me in the right direction.’

Willy gets up and walks to the back of the store.

‘Where do you think you are going?’

‘You’ll need protection.’ Willy calls back.

He comes back and takes Jack’s hand, sliding a bracelet over Jack’s hand. It is a strange and spooky piece of jewelry. It seems to consists of twine, hair, little beads, shells and what appear to be bones of some small animal.

‘The kid will come to you, but be cautious, he won’t come as a friend. Keep this on you.’

Jack studies Willy for a moment, but it is clear the old man is dead serious.

‘Thanks Willy.’

Jack leaves the shop and makes a beeline for his rental car. He is unsure where to go, so he decides to head back to the motel and rethink his strategy. Who has issues with Duke Jacoby? Jack orders pizza, figuring this out is going to take time. Duke didn´t have many friends.

While he is eating, a text comes in.

_Meet me at Jackson square at midnight._

Jack checks the time, he still has two hours. He knows better than to go there alone, but he needs to know what they want from him. Maybe it will explain his dream. He dumps the pizza, having lost his appetite and lies down, he can still nap for an hour or so. His phone alarm set, he closes his eyes.

_He wakes once again in the farm and like before, Mac appears out of nothing. The kid looks horrible._

_‘Oh kid, what happened?’_

_‘Help me.’_

_Mac points once again at his leather jacket._

His alarm wakes him and he readies himself to leave the hotel. At midnight, he steps onto Jackson square, hyper aware of his surroundings. He can see a man approaching him and as he expected, it turns out to be Mac. He looks as bad as he looked in his dreams.

Jack wants to step closer to Mac, but he stops dead in his tracks when Mac pulls a gun from behind his back.

‘Oh come on hoss, this is not you. You can’t do that. You hate guns.’

Mac flips off the safety and Jack swallows. He knows Mac knows how to use a weapon. There is no doubt in his mind. Mac was in the army, he went through spy school, he is well trained. But still, he never expected Mac to pull a weapon on him.

‘What do you want Mac? Who is doing this?’

Mac just stares at him, tormented. It is clear this is not Mac. He opens and closes his mouth like he wants to say something. He grimaces like he is fighting some internal conflict.

‘What is it Mac? Come on man, talk to me.’

A single tear escapes Mac when he looks from the gun to Jack.

‘Help me.’

Jack’s heart skips a beat, ‘I will, what do you need?’

‘Help… me.’

It sounds strained and almost as someone else is talking through Mac.

Mac lowers the gun with clearly great effort and Jack immediately takes advantage by knocking it out of his hand. Something in Mac´s eyes changes and he hits Jack square in the jaw. No expecting the blow, Jack is knocked back, but now he is just getting mad so he engages Mac like any other bad guy. He doesn´t want to hurt the kid permanently, so he will have to take him out quickly. But nobody cleared that with the kid and he puts up a good fight and even though he is quick, Jack has weight behind his punches.

A moment of distracting is enough and Jack grabs Mac in a choke hold. Mac does his best to get out of it, but has nothing against Jack’s bulk.

‘I’m sorry.’ He whispers in Mac’s ear while Mac is starting to grow heavier in his arms. Once Mac goes limp, he holds him for a couple of seconds longer just to make sure Mac isn´t faking it.

Recovering for a moment, he scans his surroundings but they are alone. He needs to contact Matt and get Mac to a safe place.

* * *

Mac wakes with a start. He is tied to a bed with sturdy leather restraints. The bed is placed in what appears to be an operating room.

‘You disappointed me, Angus. You didn´t do what I asked of you and that gave Dalton an advantage.’

Mac remembers how hard he fought to give Jack that advantage, so it worked. But where is he? The restraints shouldn´t be a problem, he knows how to get out of those. No problem.

‘Where am I?’

‘You don´t have to worry about that, worry about your punishment.’

‘Punishment? What are you talking about? Isn´t this already enough punishment?’

‘You let Dalton take you in, that needs to be punished. You are my servant and you failed your master. You let him take you from me. So what would be an appropriate punishment that fits this infraction’

The man walks around his bed, studying him.

‘Oh, I know. I’ll cut off the hand that lowered that gun.’

All of a sudden the man is holding a surgical bone saw in his hands. Mac tries to get out of the restraints, his heart pounding.

‘You can´t. Please, no, don´t!’

‘You made your choice Angus, so let’s get on with it.’

Mac tries to pull away his hand but it is just too well restrained and before he knows it, he is screaming and his hand is cut off. He stares in horror at the stump. It sort of magically heals and eh bleeding stops.

‘So Angus, are you ready to behave for your master?’

‘NEVER!’

‘Well, bold talk for a slave. But we can take care of that as well.’

* * *

Matty arranged for Mac to be admitted in a private clinic. He has been tossing and turning since they placed him in his bed. Jack is worried. The doctors can’t explain what is wrong with him or why he doesn´t wake up. They restrained Mac so he can´t hurt himself or others but he is restless.

All of a sudden he screams like he is being gutted.

‘Mac! What’s going on?’

A doctor and nurses pour into the room. But as soon as Mac screamed, he is completely limp. Jack takes his hand and immediately lets go. It is cold. Mac’s hand feels like a corpse. He tells the doctor who promises to check Mac’s blood circulation in his hand as the rest of his body seems of normal temperature.

As Mac screamed before, now, he doesn´t open his mouth anymore. That doesn´t mean he doesn´t make any sound anymore, but he doesn´t open his mouth anymore. It is getting stranger and stranger and it is clear nobody knows what is wrong with Mac.

The doctor comes back with an ultrasound set to test the blood flow in Mac’s hand. The test is non-invasive and comes back negative, nothing seems amiss and still Mac’s hand is stone cold. It baffles the doctor as well. He promises to perform more tests, but for now, it looks like nothing is wrong, well except that mac was pronounced dead not so long ago. Matty promises to take care of the paperwork and other arrangements.

Matty agrees with Jack that he needs protection and a Phoenix TAC team is flown in. Meanwhile Jack stays in Mac’s room. Since it is in the middle of the night, he finally falls asleep in the reclining chair next to Mac’s bed. The medical staff gave him a pillow and blanket.

_Jack wakes, once again in the abandoned farm. But this time Mac is not there. He calls out for the kid, but there is nothing, not a sound. So he starts exploring the farm. There is a door to what appears to be a cellar. He opens the door and slowly descend the stairs. Downstairs he enters a hospital like room. Well a hospital at the turn of the previous century. He walks into the next room where there are shelves with glass jars. They have all sorts of body parts in them and Jack can feel a shiver run across his spine. He has seen some weird shit, but this is the cherry._

_‘Is there anybody?’_

_There is no answer or noise so Jack leaves the room to explore the basement further. The atmosphere is getting creepier if that is even possible. He freezes when he looks into one of the rooms. It looks like an abandoned operating room from the fifties but what has him shocked is Mac who is down here with him. The kid is tied to the operating table with leather medical restraints._

_‘Mac!’_

_He hurries over to the kid and sees in horror that Mac’s mouth is sewn shut. The black thick thread obscenely keeping the kid’s mouth closed. Mac’s eyes are open, but he stares in the distance. Jack puts his hands around Mac’s face and turns it towards him._

_‘Mac? Come on kid, wake up, look at me.’_

_Mac all of a sudden stares right towards Jack with eyes wide in horror and pain. He tries to scream, talk, whatever, but with his mouth closed like it is, nothing comes out. And then Jack sees to his horror that Mac’s right hand is gone. There is only a stump, cruelly sutured shut as well._

_‘Oh my God, Mac, I…’_

_Mac keeps trashing and this will hunt Jack forever._

_‘It’s OK, Mac, I’m gonna get you out of here. Let me get those restraints free.’_

_But no matter what he tries, he can´t seem to get the restraints of Mac. They seem to magically stay put. Mac seems to get more frantically and when Jack finally realizes what is going on, a man stands in front of him. Jack didn´t see or hear him approach._

_‘Jack Dalton. If I had known it was this easy to get you here, I would have let your boy call for you sooner. Isn´t he a sight for sore eyes. He suffers so pretty.’_

_Jack’s blood boils. And he steps closer to the man._

_‘Who are you and what do you want?’ he growls._

_‘Who I am, I am just a servant, hired to do a job.’_

_‘Who hired you?’_

_‘Now that is the question, isn´t it, Jack?’_

_‘The kid has nothing to do with this. Take me instead.’_

_‘I wish it was that simple, but it isn´t.’_

_‘I can’t let Angus go, he is such a disobedient servant, he will have to learn.’_

_‘I won´t let you torment him anymore that you already have.’_

_The man suddenly grabs him but pulls back as if he is burned._

_‘Where did you get that?’_

_The man backs off so Jack looks down at his wrist where he is wearing the bracelet that Willy gave him._

Unconsciously he touches it and gasps when he wakes next to Mac’s bed. He does his best to take deep breaths.

‘Mac!’

The kids is still deadly still and Jack takes Mac’s hand, which is still cold.

‘Hang in there Mac. I will come for you.’

Jack sits down again and closes his eyes, concentrating on Mac. But sleep eludes him and he huffs in frustration. He needs answers. He gets up and leaves the room. Outside are two TAC team members he picked himself, guarding the room.

‘I need to go out. Can you make sure he is safe?’

‘We’ll take good care of him, Jack, don’t worry.’

‘Thanks.’

‘Be careful.’

‘I will, you two keep Mac safe.’

‘We will.’

Jack walks to one of the Phoenix rentals and calls Willy.

‘ _Do you know what time it is?’_

‘Yeah, but I really need to talk to you.’

He can hear Willy sigh.

_‘OK, come to the shop.’_

Jack starts the car and drives to Willy´s shop in the old part of town. He knocks at the door and Willy carefully checks who is at the door before unlocking it.

‘What do you want Jack?’

‘You gave me this bracelet. Why? What does it do?’

‘What happened?’ Willy asks with a knowing look.

‘I found the kid, he is at a safe place now, he is in an unresponsive state. I fell asleep next to his bed, I saw the kid tied up in what appeared to be an operating room. His mouth was sewn shut and his hand was cut off.’

Willy nods, ‘did you see who the bokor is?’

‘The guy who did this?’

Willy nods.

‘Yeah, I saw him.’

‘Well Jack, like I told you before, there are forces here at work, you don´t want to mess with. The bracelet is old, it was made by my grandma and it works as a protection amulet against dark forces. I gave it to you to keep you safe so you can save your boy.’

‘Will it work on my friend?’

‘Yes, it will. Your friend is turned into a zombie and not the Hollywood kind. He is turned into one by a vodou witch, a bokor. He is under the spell of this person as long as the bokor lives. And even if you manage to kill this person, you will need to find his spirit, it will be hidden away somewhere.’

‘The leather jacket.’ Jack musses.

‘What?’

‘In my dreams, Mac always points at his leather jacket.’

‘That could be were his spirit is captured.’

‘So all I have to do is kill this bokor and find Mac’s spirit and release it. That’s all?’

‘Well, you make it sound simple, but it won’t be. Remember these bokors are powerful.’

‘Thanks Willy.’

‘You are welcome Jack. Please be careful.’

* * *

Mac stares at the man. He doesn´t know what happened but one moment Jack was here and the next the man reacted like he was bitten by a snake and Jack was gone. The man gives him a sinister smile.

‘It appears as if Jack abandoned you once again, Angus.’

Mac wants to defend Jack but unable to speak, there is not much he can do.

‘You know, now that your body is no longer mine to use, you are quite useless to me. But I can still feel your anger and your willpower. Don’t worry, I have dealt with such feelings in slaves before.’

The man steps closer and brushes a strand of hair out of his face.

‘Do you know what happens in the frontal lobe of your brain? I think you do. Do you know what happens if I would to take a piece out of it? Let’s say you would be a more willing servant.’

The man’s fingers ghost over Mac’s face, stopping above the bridge of his nose. Mac doesn´t know what is happening, but he starts to feel off, like he is drugged. The man keeps eye contact, clearly enjoying what he is doing.

‘You really are a feisty one. Although I can sense your fear, it is so clear. You care about Jack, I can see that as well. Let’s see how much Jack cares about you.’

The man pushes a bit harder and Mac would have screamed if he could.

* * *

Jack arrives back at the hospital and he can see everything is still quiet. The Phoenix TAC team is still in place on the grounds and roof of the hospital. Jack enters the building.

‘Hey Jack, already back?’

‘Yeah, everything OK?’

‘Everything is quiet.’

Jack walks into Mac’s room and Mac is twitching in his restraints. There is a thin sheen of sweat all over his face.

‘Hey Mac. How are you doing kid? Please hold on. Fight him.’

Mac’s face contorts and all of a sudden he starts convulsing.

‘Shit. I need help!’ Jack calls out. A nurse enters the room and pushes the blue button on the wall. A team of doctors and nurses comes barreling through the door, immediately assessing Mac. Medication is pushed but mac’s keeps trashing.

‘OK, let’s get him to imaging, we need to see what is going on in his brain.’

Mac’s bed is taken of its breaks and wheeled out of the room. Jack follows the bed, but is told he is not allowed inside with Mac while they perform a MRI. However Jack is allowed in the control room, so he can talk to Mac over the microphone.

‘There is abnormal activity in the frontal lobe of his brain, but I can’t see any reason why it is there.’

‘What if I tell you he is under a spell of a bokor.’

The doctor turns his head to look at Jack.

‘Do you know what you are saying?’

‘Yes, I saw the bokor, I also know why his hand is unexplainably cold. It was cut off by this bokor.’

‘Maybe we should take this conversation to my office.’ The doctor suggests, ‘Nancy, can you finish the MRI. I will be out in a second.’

‘Of course doctor.’

The doctor guides Jack to his office and closes the door behind them.

‘Sit down jack. You do know vodou is a religion. It is not something evil, like they make it out in films and books.’

‘Look doc, I lived in New Orleans, I know about the religion, but I also know that there are practitioners that perform dark vodou. Mac comes into my dreams and is trying to tell me something. I saw this bokor in my dreams, but was able to get away from him, because of this bracelet.’

Showing the bracelet, the doctor nods, ‘it is old and powerful.’

‘Yeah. Look, there is nothing wrong with Mac, except that he is under a spell.’

‘I am a man of science, Jack, but I know there are things you don´t want to mess with.’

Jack is ready to start arguing, but the doctor stops him.

‘But I was raised here in New Orleans and I have seen things that I still can’t explain, so I believe you. I know bokors use drugs to keep their victims docile. When I get Mac’s tox screen back I will look for peculiars. I promise I will do anything I can to keep Mac from suffering permanent damage, but if it is true what you are saying, you will need to get Mac from under that bokor´s spell.’

‘I will.’

* * *

Jack does his best to fall asleep next to Mac. But the more he tries, the harder it gets. Mac’s attending walks in to check up on Mac and immediately sees what Jack is trying.

‘It doesn´t work like that, Jack, you can´t force it. Here, wait, I’ll be right back.

‘I don´t want any medication.’

‘That wouldn´t work.

The doctor leaves the room.

Jack focuses back on Mac, taking his hand, ‘hold on hoss, you are doing good.’

The doctor re-enters the room with a steaming mug in his hand.

‘Drink up.’

‘What is it?’

Jack has to admit it smells delicious.

‘Milk, with honey and cinnamon.’

He dims the lights in the room and hands Jack another thicker and heavier blanket. He then puts on some music on the wall radio in the room, it is soft and warm.

‘Just relax Jack, don´t force it.’

While Jack drinks his milk, the doctor checks Mac’s vitals and he is happy.

‘Sleep tied, Jack and be careful.’

Jack finishes his drink and closes his eyes.

* * *

Jack wakes in a familiar spot, so he immediately moves to the basement to find Mac. The kid is still where he was before. The restraints are gone but Mac appears to be worse. The kid is sitting in a chair. He is staring, slightly squinting at nothing.

‘Oh Mac, what did he do?’

‘I just made sure he is more obedient.’

Jack looks up at the man who is standing opposite from him.

‘What do you want from me? You said you were just hired. Who hired you? Who wants me so bad that he would do this to the kid. He doesn’t have anything to do with it. I said it before, take me instead. I will come willingly.’

‘So noble. Mac wasn´t sure if you cared enough to come back for him. Too bad that he doesn´t know you are here. He went down all alone, Jack.’

‘You son of a bitch, but I will stand by my offer. Talk to your patron.’

‘Oh, I will Jack.’

The man turns around and Jack quickly slips the bracelet of his wrist and onto Mac’s. The man turns and shouts in frustration when he realizes what Jack has done. He rushes forward and Jack pulls his gun and shoots the man point blank. He is dead before he hits the floor.

Jack rushes forward, ‘Mac, mac, go back, you’re alright.’

Mac slowly blinks and he looks at Jack. Tears built in Jack’s eyes. It is then that Jack realizes, he will first need to help Mac.

‘I need to take the sutures out, Mac.’

Mac nods in understanding, so Jack looks around in the OR and finds a scalpel and tweezers.

‘You ready?’

Mac nods taking a deep breath through his nose.

Jack tries to be as careful as possible, cutting the thread and carefully pulling them out. Mac’s hand grips the armrest of the chair white knuckled. Jack slowly pulls the last thread away.

‘You alright, Mac?’

‘What the hell happened? Who is this man? He cut off my hand, Jack.’

‘I know, but this isn´t real.’

Mac studies Jack, ‘what do you mean?’

‘You are in hospital and your hand is still attached, but this vodou witch performed some spell on you.’

‘So you are not real?’

‘Well, I’m not, no, I am, but. .. I am sleeping next to you in the hospital. Let’s worry about this later. Let’s find your hand. Did you see what he did with it?’

‘No.’

‘Don’t worry, I think I know where we need to search. Let’s go.’

Jack helps Mac up and leads him to the room he passed with all the jars. Mac looks shocked but Jack is on a mission, checking them quickly. All of a sudden, he calls out, ‘I’ve got it.’

When Mac rounds the corner, Jack holds out one of the jars and swallowing, he takes Mac’s hand out.

‘How do we attach it?’

Jack shrugs and holds it against Mac’s wrist. It attaches magically and Mac just stars at it.

‘Can you move your fingers?’

Mac tentatively moves his fingers and lets out an almost hysterical laugh.

‘OK Mac, now go back.’

‘You come with me.’

‘Let’s go.’

Jack wakes with a gasp. Immediately turning towards Mac. But the kid is still out. Jack takes his hand and it is warm. So that is sorted out. He took out the bokor, but not in the real world. So that will be his new mission.

* * *

The farmhouse, he needs to find the farmhouse from his dreams. He calls Riley and describes the farmhouse and asks if she can cross match it and find him a location. He briefs the TAC-team before he leaves. He needs to go find this bokor. But what he needs more at the moment is food, he can´t neglect his body’s needs if he wants to stay mental strong and he will need everything he has. He gets in some local place and orders Gumbo. While he is eating, he is called by Riley.

‘I think I found the property, you are referring to. I sent you the coordinates.’

‘Thanks Riley.’

‘Be careful Jack.’

‘I will.’

Jack calls Willy and explains what he found so far.

‘Normally I would suggest you feeding the zombie salt.’

‘Salt?’

‘Yes, giving them salt will return their senses and restore their personality. This will lead to them attacking the bokor who created them or to return to their place of burial for their final death. But you said he rendered the kid immobile even as a zombie, so that will not work. That only leaves the option of killing the bokor.’

‘I’m on it.’

‘Be careful Duke.’

‘I will.’

Jack drives to the coordinates Riley gave him. Arriving the farmhouse is even more eerie than in his dreams. He draws his gun and slowly enters the house. It doesn´t take him long to find the bokor. He is sitting in front of the shrine of his dreams and on the shrine is Mac’s leather jacket.

‘Wakie Wakie, son of a bitch, get up.’

He stays far away from the man, not wanting to get anything in his face.

‘I will only give you this warning, there isn´t another one. Get up or I will shoot you. I am done. Tell me where you are keeping Mac´s Ti bonange.’

The man slowly gets up and turns towards Jack.

‘Oh Jack, do you really think it will be this easy? I have your boy under my control. Too bad you have him stashed away with all these guards, but you can´t keep him there forever. And then I will take my chance.’

He can see the man’s eyes creep towards the bracelet he is wearing.

‘No way creep. Like I said, no warnings.’

He shoots the man in the leg and he crumples in a heap. His eyes, clearly not expecting that Jack would make good on his treat.

‘Last chance, give me back Mac’s soul.’

The man starts laughing, ‘I have no quarrels with Papa Legba, he will embrace me, but you will never have your kid back.’

Jack is unsure where the man finds the strength, but he jumps up and charges towards Jack, so he fires two bullet, point blank. The man falls down and Jack refrains from feeling for a heartbeat, who knows what he has smeared on his skin.

He walks over to the shrine and opens the folded jacket. Inside is Mac’s SAK and a small clay jar. He smashes the jar against the shrine, but to his surprise it is empty. Confused he takes everything with him to the hospital.

* * *

By the time Jack arrives in the hospital, he can hear the activity in Mac’s room. He starts running, not knowing what to expect, but Mac is talking to the doctor, answering questions and Jack takes a deep breathe to calm his heart down.

‘Mac!’

‘Jack!’

Jack comes forward and pulls Mac in an embrace.

‘I thought I lost you.’

‘No, you came, you saved me. I am not sure what was real and what wasn´t but maybe we should put this one under Cairo.

‘Yeah, I agree.’

**Author's Note:**

> Honfour – vodou temple  
> Bokor - a Vodou witch for hire practicing for both good and evil.  
> Coup de foudre - Some zombification processes use blood and hair from their victims in addition to using vodou dolls, while others involve a carefully prepared mixture called “coup de poudre” (“powder strike”) made of mystical herbs, human remains, and animal parts.  
> Ti bonange – the part of the soul directly connected to the victim


End file.
